Forevolution Review—Cull Me Maybe

I am not familiar with Pygmy Studios’ portfolio, but it definitely looks like they are a Japanese studio. This is the first time that I’ve played any of their games, which is probably the case for the majority of our readers, too. Forevolution is a unique creature, not just because it is a must-buy PlayStation Mobile title (which rarely happens), but because the gameplay is indeed original. There is a Vita game that has a similar premise, Ecolibrium, in which you balance things out and proliferate a certain ecosystem depending on the objectives of the level. Forevolution is Ecolibrium in a small package without the microtransactions and long waiting times, but with a more hands-on approach.

Essentially, you are a god. You allow and disallow certain creatures to live by smashing (culling) the latter with your fingertips. The essence left will be absorbed by the surrounding eggs or plants, and in turn, they evolve into more advanced creatures. Sounds like a simulation game, but this isn’t; Forevolution is an arcade/RTS game that needs patience and timing.
The art is hand drawn, or at least it looks like it. It definitely looks like something drawn by a kid, though a very skilled kid, for that matter. The font style also emits this kind of kiddie aura. The creature design is charming, full of quirkiness. There is a notable absence of a soundtrack—there is not much I can remember. Maybe because I was just so engrossed with the gameplay that everything else became irrelevant.

There are three game modes: Challenge, Campaign, and Free. Per usual, the Free Mode is all about you creating things without much pressure from any form of objectives or goals. In Challenge, you are given sets of goals to accomplish, and the next level will only be playable if you complete the level prior to it. In Campaign, you have to amass an army of creatures to defend your territory from invading forces!

The gameplay is simple, and Forevolution’s levels are especially tailored to hold the hand of players so that they can grasp the basic concepts of the game. It is sort of an RTS that is all about combining essences of creatures and plants in order to come up with new life forms, for better or for worse. The most basic forms of life are seeds of shrubs and eggs of “Dots” (walking dark violet tadpoles). Culling these Dots and shrubs produces color-coded essences, red and blue respectively. These essences get absorbed by the nearby seeds and eggs, evolving them into new creatures and plants. You also have to try to balance things out since these creatures eat each other; there should be enough food sources in order to keep things in balance. The creature chart is pretty straightforward, with only four three-leveled branches.

It sounds boring, but it isn’t, since you have to time your actions and make sure that the essences are going to the right seed/egg, or else your plan is busted. Though you could try again, when the going gets tough, it is also rough, as creatures and plants are popping up all over the place. You can always pinch to zoom to wade through traffic, but when it is busy, it is indeed busy. The situations and objectives in both Campaign and Challenge Modes are well varied, and nicely designed. You can always replay the levels to do better, because time of completion is recorded, basically your high score, for those who obsess about that kind of thing.

Forevolution is difficult to review, because there is so much going on in it that it had been taking too much of my time to play other games, and review them for that matter. Writing everything about the game would be lengthy when all I ever wanted to say was “Don’t think, just buy Forevoution.” About the price? How much would you pay for fun?